IDEX 2025: EOS to fire R500 remote weapon station for potential customers this year

Australian company EOS expects to conduct the first demonstration of its new R500 RWS in the final quarter of this year. It is a large system with a gross weight of 660kg, which includes payload, and an RWS-only weight of 320kg.

The system without payload consists of large ammunition storage box, gimbal, dual-axis stabilised sensor unit and dual weapon adaptor kit, as well as structure.

R500 is described by the company as modular with the baseline system including the M230LF dual-feed 30×113mm gun and 7.62mm general purpose machine gun. It also includes two anti-tank guided missile tubes which could be Javelin, Spike or Tube-Launched Optically-guided Weapon (TOW).

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A key feature requested by customers, according to EOS CEO Dr Andreas Schwer, was the inclusion of a large ammunition holder, Consequently, the R500 can hold 300 rounds of 30mm ammunition or 1,000 rounds of 7.62mm.

“The development and design phase is completed and we are now starting the verification phase,” Schwer said. “We will do the first shooting demonstration for customers in quarter four of this year.

“This is more than just a kind of PowerPoint or concept study, it is a real project and we are in negotiation with the first clients for contracts.

“It is a universal design but we’ve been asked by [Middle East] clients to include new features a and we have also included all the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine,” he added. 

The company expects to shortly announce the sale of a 100kW laser to a European NATO country for use in counter-uncrewed aerial system operations.

Schwer would not disclose the customer but argued it was the first ever export contract of a 100kW laser and that “it is a game changer for EOS and the entire laser industry”.

The system is planned to be used as a containerised platform making it mobile but also able to remain in place as a static system if required.

“It can be used to protect any critical infrastructure such as a nuclear power plant, a palace or it can be a harbour.” Schwer said.

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